Six months down the line of the highly controversial presidential elections, we are not done with all the recounts yet.
Amid the considerable cry of voter fraud in the aftermath of the elections, Arizona is now the center of the discussion. The Arizona state legislature ordered a recount in Maricopa county, having more than 2.1 million votes.
The controversy is fueled by the involvement of the Florida-based tech firm named Cyber Ninjas, whose CEO sponsored the notion of “Stop the Steal” in the wake of Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud.
Having no experience in handling election results, the company just got its first gig directly for recounting the presidential elections for a monetary sum of $150,000.
Despite the court orders, the controversial CEO, Doug Logan, is reluctant to publicize the project, further straining the recount’s transparency.
How will the presence of a pro-Trump CEO impact the recount, and what are its repercussions for the democracy of the United States? Let’s see.
Cyber Ninjas CEO: A Pro-Trump Man Having a Controversial Record
Doug Logan, the CEO of Cyber Ninjas, is a well-known supporter of former President Donald Trump and is also facing lawsuits for promoting fake news about 2020 election fraud.
Before deleting his Twitter account, Logan shared various myths about so-called election fraud using the controversial hashtag #stopthesteal.
One of his shared tweets said,
“The parallels between the statistical analysis of Venezuela and this year’s election are astonishing.”
(Doug Logan)
Maricopa county was one specific county he mentioned in his election fraud rhetoric, claiming that nearly 200,000 Republican votes were not counted in this area.
With the so-called audit of the same county, the chances to actualize the fraud are even higher for the disputed CEO.
The Glaring Question of Objectivity in the Recount
Amid the heaps of failed lawsuits, this time, the Arizona Republicans have ordered themselves a recount through the Republican-controlled legislature.
There is a glaring question of objectivity in the audit of the Maricopa County presidential election vote recount. In this, the largest county of Arizona, 2.1 million ballots were cast in the presidential election, packaged in forty shrink-wrapped cardboard boxes in the county facility, and are awaiting recount as Arizona Republicans can still not digest the fact that they lost the state.
Cyber Ninjas was tasked with the recount process, but the firm is reluctant to make the process public.
This denial to publicize the process is making the matter controversial. With the possession of Maricopa County’s ballots and all the relevant voting machinery, the Cyber Ninjas have the real data to tamper with right now. Any attempt not to publicize the project will only make the matter more controversial.
Casting doubts on the election process of Arizona’s largest county could state controversial results, and that is what Arizona Republicans are trying to achieve here.
Arizona Secretary of the State Katie Hobbs admitted in an interview with the New York Times that most of the people involved in the process have no idea about what they are doing.
The complete lack of experience of the company in handling election results is further painting a grey picture on the recount.
The deliberate or otherwise mistakes in the process would strengthen Republicans’ everlasting beliefs of voter fraud.
A reporter from Arizona who was allowed to attend the process on the first day also reported that he has serious concerns about the legitimacy of the process. He said that those examining the ballots could alter them easily, as he saw blue pens on the counting tables.
Even Some Republicans Consider it Nonsense
The recount process of presidential election votes of Maricopa County has sparked an internecine fight among the state Republicans and Maricopa Board of Supervisors.
Even the Republican-led Board of Supervisors is reluctant to cooperate in this effort. They believe that several reviews have been taken in the past, and none of them depicts foul play in the elections.
Despite the stoppage in the middle of the process by an Arizona Judge on the condition of Democrats giving evidence of the bias in the process, the recount has been initiated once again. The court believes that Democrats do not have enough grounds to prove their case.
Now it is only a matter of time before Cyber Ninjas reaches a conclusive result. The verdict will probably lead American politics in yet another controversial direction, considering the ambitions of the Cyber Ninjas CEO.
Final Thoughts
President Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes, most of which came from Maricopa County. Finding a bit more than 10,000 controversial voters in such a mammoth amount of votes will be a walk in the park for the controversial firm.
Democrats should already know that tough times lie ahead for them, as reclaiming the elections would probably require them to go to Supreme Court.
Having an inexperienced firm auditing the elections should be a shame in itself, as the states should refrain themselves from the handover of important data to any random firm. Only this will strengthen people’s trust in democracy.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.